Year in Review: the 10 best homes from House of the Week

Whether you’re in the market for a house or not, ogling other people’s homes (and judging other people’s decor) is rollicking good fun. That’s why we scour the city each week for the most beautiful, most luxurious, most over-the-top mansions for sale and post full photo tours for the buyers, the dreamers and the snoops. Here, our favourite 10 houses from the past 12 months.

10. 138 Bedford Road

The house: A Parisian-inspired townhome in the heart of the Annex. The price: $4.5 million Why we love it: It’s refreshing to see a modern-looking home that’s not all hard lines and open plans.

See the home »

9. 157 Coxwell Avenue

The house: Architect Rohan Walters’s colourful tower on stilts on Coxwell Avenue. The price: $349,000 Why we love it: The outside is instantly recognizable, thanks to its Rubik’s cube colour scheme, and the inside is surprisingly homey.

See the home »

8. 412 Lake Front

The house: An Arts and Crafts-era mansion in the Beach that underwent a $4-million reno. The price: $8 million Why we love it: The house has a 270-degree panoramic view of the lake (although an honourable mention goes to the surveillance equipment, two panic rooms and underground escape tunnel. Paranoid, much?).

See the home »

7. 478 Melrose Avenue

The house: An unabashedly modern family home in North York. The price: $1.9 million Why we love it: While the sharp geometric lines, white walls and open plan require a special sort of buyer, kudos to the designers for choosing an aesthetic and committing to it whole-heartedly.

See the home »

6. 57 Edenbrook Hill

The house: A manor on a 1.4-acre property in Etobicoke, just off the 11th green of the storied St. George’s Golf and Country Club. The price: $8 million Why we love it: It’s a three-way tie between the hydraulic lift in the garage, the clubhouse-inspired lower level and the saltwater lagoon (plus waterfall) in the backyard.

See the home »

5. 87 Highland Crescent

The house: An uptown home set next to a serene swimming pool and a forested ravine. The price: $6.85 million Why we love it: The indoor-outdoor vibe, which includes a large pivoting glass wall that opens onto a two-tiered koi pond.

See the home »

4. 805 Glenleven Crescent

The house: A revamped bungalow in Mississauga that includes several cool 1960s details. The price: $1.9 million Why we love it: The before-and-after shots highlight the value of a well-conceived, professionally executed renovation.

See the home »

3. 18696 The Gore Road, Caledon

The house: A country home on a 24-acre-property in Caledon that was once owned by the inventor of Trivial Pursuit. The price: $8.8 million Why we love it: The house itself is sprawling and stately, but it’s the staggering beauty of the acreage (which has a heritage log cabin, landscaped gardens and a large pond) that form the real draw.

See the home »

2. 52 Post Road

The house: An unimaginably opulent Bridle Path mansion with a Versailles-like aesthetic, four kitchens, a full wine cellar and an echoing grand foyer. The price: $14 million Why we love it: The so-called “living room” is large enough to hold a small ball in.

See the home »

1. 51 Roxborough Drive

The house: The Wolf House, a glass-and-steel landmark in Rosedale designed by acclaimed architect Barton Myers. The price: $6.5 million Why we love it: Myers’s stunning original design has been beautifully integrated with new additions and landscaping.

See the home »